The statement quoted Advisor on Commerce, Textile, Industries, Production, and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood as saying that the government intends to take export to the highest level ever.

The government, he said, is taking different measures for export enhancement including reclaiming traditional markets besides accessing new markets.

One of the initiatives is to manage the removal of restrictions on Pakistani products in foreign markets.

Removal of restriction by Qatar on Pakistani rice export is a step in this direction that will reclaim Pakistan’s share in the global rice market, he added.

The statement added that over the years, rice has been Pakistan’s major export product to Qatar.

The exports were 80 to 100 thousand tonnes of rice per annum worth US $80-90 million up to 2010-11, which has dropped to US $20-25 million per annum (21,000 tonnes) in last five years.

Whereas the private sector in Qatar continued to import rice from Pakistan, the Central Tendering Committee (CTC), Government of Qatar which procures for state-supplied subsidized rice for Qatari citizens made its tender Indian-origin specific thereby effectively, banning the import of any other origin rice including Pakistani rice into Qatar in 2011-12. The CTC issues tenders after every two months for the supply of more than 5000 MT of high-quality rice to the government of Qatar and the Pakistani origin rice has been excluded from these tenders.

Therefore, Pakistani exporters have been deprived of supplying of about 30,000 to 40,000 MT good quality rice to Qatar per annum.